Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 649

Basago’s words proved true.

How deep underground were they?

The underground space held the decaying corpse of a giant. But ‘giant’ seemed inadequate. It was as if the entire 97th floor rested upon this single cadaver.

“So, we just have to break this thing, right?”

“Probably.”

“Kuaaa! If it’s about breaking things, I’m an expert!”

This certainly wasn’t the orthodox approach. But as Basago suggested, it was likely the fastest route for the three of them.

Before they could strategize, Kshallarkass abruptly swung his claws.

Thwack.

“Dragon, you really are reckless, aren’t you?”

Drrrrr-

The ground, or rather, the corpse, began to tremble.

Was it about to rise?

Regardless, they’d already started. They had to finish it.

[Serpent Tongue’s Master Sword, Adalard Snaout]

[Sword for Giants, Nagelring]

[Flame Incarnate Sword, Flamberge]

Mammon’s treasures orbited Seun.

Normally, he’d simply unleash their maximum power. But this was different.

– First Form of Annihilating Black Divine Arts, Scarlet Wolf.

Annihilating Black Divine Arts, a divine martial art created with Hamel’s help after reaching the Divine Realm [a plane of existence above the mortal realm in many mythologies].

At Seun’s command, the weapons moved as one.

Like wolves hunting with Seun as their alpha.

This martial art was heavily influenced by the Blood Wolf Sword Technique, which Seun had used extensively.

Clang!

Like a wolf tearing into prey, the weapons ripped at the corpse’s flesh.

A power far beyond simply relying on the treasures’ raw strength.

‘This is Annihilating Black Divine Arts.’

He understood it intellectually, but its practical application was beyond his expectations.

It felt like entering a completely new world.

Excited, he unleashed the Annihilating Black Divine Arts to his heart’s content.

“Oh ho, like a fish in water. Very excited, very excited.”

“Kuhumph! Can’t lose! Kuaaaaa!”

The corpse in the underground…

Calling it a living being felt inaccurate.

As Basago described it, ‘an old man dying yet unable to die,’ it existed between life and death.

It manipulated the surrounding time, radiating an aura of decay.

“Aish, I’m getting wrinkles. I haven’t worried about wrinkles since reaching the Divine Realm. This will disappear after the trial, right?”

Was it because they were nearing the trial’s source?

Like the intensifying gravity near the meteor on the 96th floor, aging seemed to accelerate as they approached the source.

He recalled Hamel mentioning that even he, who maintained his youth by transcending age in the Divine Realm, was developing faint forehead wrinkles.

At this, Seun quietly…

[Necklace of Harmonia]

…retrieved Mammon’s treasure.

This necklace, said to preserve beauty and youth for a lifetime, would mitigate the aging effect.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

“We’ll be done soon enough.”

“What’s with all the fuss over something like this! Humans, as expected! Age is proof of strength! Kuhumph!”

And so, after a while…

– The 97th floor trial, ‘Aging,’ has been successfully completed.

The 97th floor trial was over.

They faced challenges like poisonous gas and temporal distortions while attacking the corpse, but they weren’t significant obstacles for the three of them.

“Going straight on, right?”

“We have to.”

The three immediately proceeded to the next trial.

Only three floors remained.

Something huge that had risen in front of the 폐왕 [likely refers to a powerful being or entity, possibly a “Tyrant King” or “Overlord”] came to Seun’s mind as he headed to the next floor.

‘I don’t know what that is, but…’

They had to clear the tower as quickly as possible, before the 폐왕 could act.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time.

The Diablo Guild, having begun their tower climb as planned, was attacking the 91st floor.

“Really, it’s on a different level from the trials so far.”

“I agree. I couldn’t have imagined this level of large-scale combat.”

Originally, the 91st floor trial was ‘Conflict.’

The goal was to somehow end the endless conflict between the forces of the earth and the forces of the sea.

But something was amiss.

They weren’t fighting the two forces. Instead, they were joining forces with them and advancing towards a specific location.

“Kang, kang! Let’s go, merfolk!”

“Shiit- Revenge on those who betrayed our faith.”

The 91st floor that Seun had faced seemed like a fabrication.

A sage in the form of a turtle led the Diablo Guild.

“It’s all thanks to the Ascetic. If it weren’t for the Ascetic… we would still be baring our fangs at each other, oblivious to the truth.”

That’s right.

After Seun broke the ‘contract’ between the two forces, the trial on the 91st floor changed. The original trial would have remained unchanged if it had been attacked.

– Welcome to the 91st floor trial.

– Theme: Conflict, Aftermath.

The two forces had already reconciled.

Even with the contract broken, the animosity couldn’t vanish completely. But the sage intervened to mediate.

And the two forces joined hands, revolting against the entity that had manipulated them.

The 91st floor trial marked the beginning of that revolt.

So, what exactly was the entity that incited conflict between the two forces?

“We’ve arrived.”

The Diablo Guild and the two forces…

They had traveled far into an area that wasn’t originally part of the 91st floor.

A terrain so devastated it seemed on the verge of collapse, perfectly embodying ‘destruction,’ appeared.

And at the end of it…

“Daring to, without fear.”

“Insignificant creatures dare to set foot in this sacred place.”

“Breaking the contract without our permission.”

“Offering the power contained in the contract to outsiders.”

“Foolish beings who have forgotten grace.”

The entity the sage spoke of – no, there were entities.

One was composed of soil, rock, grass, and trees, resembling a colossal mountain.

The other was made of swirling seawater, ice floes, and coral, resembling the ocean itself.

They resembled golems, but the energy they radiated was far beyond that of artificial dolls.

The energy felt like… gods.

More precisely, demigods.

“Grace? The contract was a shackle, not grace, for us.”

The sage stepped forward, answering the demigods.

Did those words sound presumptuous?

The two demigods unleashed their energy, attempting to intimidate them.

“The contract was what you desired.”

“We simply realized your desires.”

“Is the action we took for you a shackle?”

“It was simply the grace we bestowed.”

The Diablo Guild sensed it.

The demigods were pressuring them, but hesitant to attack.

According to the sage, they were absorbing the divinity generated by the conflict to elevate their status.

If they were defeated, the demigods would be stuck here.

To ascend to a higher position, to become true gods, they would eventually need them.

So, they were attempting to appease the two forces with pressure and persuasion.

“We are not fools. We now know that we have been in eternal conflict and war for your sake.”

“But, that was also what you desired.”

“Have you forgotten? How much those above ground have damaged the sea.”

“How much those below the sea have invaded the land.”

“Intrigue no longer works.”

The sage didn’t yield to the demigods’ persuasion. No, none of those present yielded.

Thanks to the sage, they realized how foolishly they had been fighting for so long.

And they understood that the reason they couldn’t resolve the conflict through dialogue, resorting to violence, was due to the greed of the two demigods.

“There’s no choice.”

“It will take time, but we have no choice but to cultivate them anew.”

“We must eliminate the failures.”

Kugugugu-

The two demigods began to rise in earnest.

As the one made of rock rose, the surrounding land floated as if part of its body. As the one made of the sea rose, seawater surged around it.

The 91st floor trial. Conflict, Aftermath.

The trial of defeating two demigods, not mere boss monsters, was by no means easier than the original trial.

In terms of difficulty, it could be considered even harder.

Fortunately, the numerous monsters from the two forces were acting as allies.

Faced with this situation…

“Diablo Guild, we will now begin the battle.”

“We’re ready, Ms. Seo-ah.”

“Let’s follow Seun-ssi without being too late.”

Taat!

The Diablo Guild charged towards the two demigods with calm expressions.

* * *

Seun, Kshallarkass, and Francis Hamel.

The three not only cleared the 97th floor quickly but also moved swiftly to the next trial.

– Welcome to the 98th floor trial.

– Theme: Indolence [laziness; inactivity]

The method for clearing the 98th floor was similar.

They summoned a demon king who knew the solution using a key and sought their advice.

True to its theme of Indolence, the summoned demon king was from Belphegor’s line [one of the seven princes of Hell, representing the sin of sloth].

It wasn’t intentional, but it resulted in consecutive summons from Belphegor’s line, as Basago had predicted.

– The constellation, ‘Falling Wings,’ glares at you, believing that his subordinate would not switch lines just because of one mistake.

– The constellation, ‘Falling Wings,’ tells you to remember who gave you the third key.

Starting with Lucifer, who had provided the key before the potential line switch but still harbored distrust.

– The constellation, ‘Serpent Enclosing Jealousy,’ says that his children will definitely be of great help.

– The constellation, ‘Night Owl,’ wonders if you should summon Asmodeus [another of the seven princes of Hell, associated with lust] this time and suspects your taste.

– The constellation, ‘Lord of Fury,’ laughs heartily, saying that he is not interested in politics and gathers all of his subordinates.

– The constellation, ‘Crow Bowing Its Head,’ sighs.

Even the other Seven Demon Gods [powerful entities in demonology]…

Even when explained that the key usage was based on the trial’s situation, they wouldn’t listen.

In reality, they probably knew that Seun wasn’t interested in politics and was simply choosing a line to summon a demon king.

Perhaps because they had entrusted their future to Seun, they were seeking more attention.

– The 98th floor trial, ‘Indolence,’ has been successfully completed.

Regardless, Seun cleared the 98th floor in record time.

“Kuaaa! Is it already the 99th floor! The path of the Dragon God is not far away!”

“To think that something like that is a Dragon God. It’s the end of the world, the end of the world. I’ll simply become a Sword God? If possible, it would be nice to fight the constellations one by one.”

Of course, the three moved to the next floor together.

However, upon arriving on the 99th floor, Seun had to part ways with the other two.

– Welcome to the 99th floor trial.

– Theme: Solitude [the state of being alone]

The 99th floor trial was a trial of solitude, to be challenged alone.